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disease information


To help you learn more about different diseases currently under investigation for treatment with TM601, we have listed helpful information on the following:

Glioma and other brain tumors
Melanoma
Age-Related Macular Degeneration

For more information on these diseases, please click here for additional resources.


Glioma

In the U.S., an estimated 21,800 new cases of brain and/or nervous system tumors are expected to be diagnosed in 2008 (Cancer Facts & Figures 2008). Of primary brain tumors, malignant glioma is the most common tumor type and is the second most common cause of cancer related mortality in the 15 to 44 age group. In patients with grade III, moderately severe glioma, the median survival is three to five years; however, median survival in patients with grade IV glioma or glioblastoma multiforme is less than a year (Chang et al 2005). Despite over twenty-five years of intensive research and a variety of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgical approaches, the prognosis for these tumors has not changed significantly. Primary brain tumors remain one of the most aggressive and difficult to treat cancers.

The current standard of care treatment (surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy) for glioma patients has not significantly improved the prognosis or survival rates for these patients. Reasons for this include tumor resistance to chemotherapy and the difficulty in completely resecting the entire tumor, resulting in the potential for tumor regrowth. Another impeding factor has been the inability of chemotherapeutics to cross the blood brain barrier. It is known that radioactivity is one of the most effective treatments for glioma, but the amount of radioactivity that can be delivered is often limited by the risk of radiation damage to normal brain tissues. Thus, there is a need for new, less toxic and better modalities for treating this disease.

In addition to gliomas, there are many other types of primary brain tumors that affect different types of brain cells and areas of the brain. As with gliomas, they range in grade from benign and slow growing to malignant and aggressive and are treated according to location in the brain and severity. Among them are:

  • Meningeal Tumors
  • Pineal Parenchymal Tumors
  • Embryonal Tumors
  • Neuronal Tumors

More information about these and other primary brain tumor types is available at The National Brain Tumor Foundation.


Melanoma

Melanoma is a cancer of the melanocyte, a long-lived pigment-producing cell normally found at the dermo-epidermal junction within the skin (Newton Bishop 1997). According to the American Academy of Dermatology, an estimated 116,500 new cases of melanoma will be diagnosed in the United States in 2008, including 54,020 in situ and 62,480 invasive cases. Melanoma is the most common cancer in young adults, ages 25-29 and the second most common cancer in young adults, ages 15-29. About 8,400 deaths from melanoma are expected in 2008 in the United States (American Academy of Dermatology 2007). Melanoma that has spread to distant sites is rarely curable with standard therapy, though a few biological therapies have shown more positive results. Interferon-α and interleukin-2 (IL-2) have been reported to produce positive response rates in a small number of patients (Stage IV Melanoma, NCI Webpage 2008).


Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of vision loss in individuals 50 years of age or older in the developed world and affects more the 1.75 million individuals in the US alone (Jager et al 2008; Friedman et al 2004). A degenerative disease, AMD causes gradual loss of vision due to damage to the photoreceptors in the center of the visual field (macula) of the eye. Common early symptoms include blurred vision, decreased contrast sensitivity and difficulty adjusting from bright to dim light. AMD can be classified into two main types: a dry form (nonexudative) and wet form (neo vascular or exudative). Dry AMD is characterized by a gradual degeneration of the light-sensitive cells in the macula often resulting in blurred vision. By contrast wet AMD, or neovascular AMD, occurs when abnormal choroidal neovascularization develops. These new abnormal blood vessels tend to be fragile, often leaking blood and fluid and causing damage to the macula ultimately causing vision loss. Damage often occurs more rapidly in wet AMD and while the disease only represents 10-15% of the overall prevalence, it is the cause of over 80% of the cases of severe visual loss or legal blindness from AMD (Jager et al 2008).

Current wet AMD treatment options include intravitreal antiangiogenic therapy, ocular photodynamic therapy, argon laser photocoagulation, and vitreoretinal surgery. Intravitreal injections with the antiangiogenic agent ranibizumab (Lucentis®), a VEGF inhibitor, is the most common therapy for wet AMD. Systemic VEGF inhibition, however, has been associated with serious adverse events including thromboembolic events and death and unknown long-term effects of intravitreal administration may exist (Jager et al 2008).


References

  • American Academy of Dermatology. 2007 Melanoma Fact Sheet. Available at: http://www.aad.org/public/exams/screenings/doc/MelanomaFactSheetFinal2008.doc, Accessed March 6, 2008.
  • Cancer Facts & Figures 2008. American Cancer Society Web site. Available at: http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/CAFF2007PWSecured.pdf. Accessed March 26, 2008. Pages 4, 9-20.
  • Chang SM, Parney IF, Huang W et al. Patterns of Care for Adults With newly Diagnosed Malignant Glioma. J Amer Med Assoc. 2005; 293 (5): 557-564.
  • Friedman DS, O'Colmain BJ, Munoz B et al. Prevalence of Age-Related Macular Degeneration in the United States. Arch Ophthalmol, 2004. 122:564-572.
  • Jager RD, Mierler WF, and Miller JW. Age-Related Macular Degeneration. N Eng J Med, 2008. 358:2606-17.
  • Newton Bishop, JA. Molecular pathology of melanoma. Cancer Metastasis Rev. 1997; 16:141-154.
  • Schiffer, David. Classification and biology of astrocytic gliomas. FORUM Trends in Experimental and Clinical Medicine. 1998; 8: 244-255.
  • Shapiro WR. Management of Primary Brain Tumors. Annual NY Academy of Sci. 1997; 835:132-41.
  • Stage IV Melanoma page. National Cancer Institute website. Updated February 22,2008. Available at: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/melanoma/HealthProfessional/page10. Accessed March 26, 2008.